Author's Note: Unlike my normal 'intermission' chapters (the ones that fall in between the main group's shenanigans), what I'm about to present is another beast entirely. I am once again splitting the next series of events into a three-part set… … … but that's only because A LOT is about to happen, and hitting you with a wall of 15,000 words AT ONCE would be a bit intimidating. :)
I'm calling this trilogy 'The Intermission With No Name.' Enjoy!
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Remnant-5815
(Carmine's World)
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(Almost a decade earlier…)
Velvet Scarlatina was having a bad day.
It wasn't totally unheard of for fourth-year teams like hers to experience a breaking up of some kind or another. Huntsman trainees were often faced with missions that ended…badly. Every so often there was a death in the ranks, but that was always part of the job. Major injuries were far more common. And like so many others, Velvet never imagined such a thing would happen to someone she knew.
Her partner, Fox Alistair, had been struck with a rare illness when he was a child that ended up taking his eyesight. As far as he knew, it had been in remission. But then, during what would be their last mission together, it came back with a vengeance. Now the young man was paralyzed from the waist down in addition to being blind. His retirement from Beacon was a forgone conclusion, regardless of his feelings on the matter.
And that left Velvet alone, with no certainty of any kind of future. Teams didn't survive very long after breaking apart.
At least, most of the time. Team RWBY was an exception.
The leader of team RWBY suddenly vanished last year, but the team defied all expectations by surviving… and thriving. The remaining members stubbornly kept on with their training, with the Schnee heiress acting as leader for the foreseeable future. And once Ruby came back, all the rumor wells suddenly dried up. No one made a peep about them.
It was on this dark day, as Velvet grappled with her future, that she and Ruby Rose properly met for the first time.
As it turned out, Ruby was also struggling with the same kind of problem. Her year off was due to her being snatched up by Atlas Academy, of all things. Apparently she'd been brought to the attention of the higher-ups of the school during her first year at Beacon and they managed to get her transferred before anyone even knew what happened. They ended up training her in their technology program, and she ended up being very good at it.
But she came back to Beacon because she wanted to continue her Huntress training. And the team she left behind turned out to be none too happy about her sudden return. Now her own future was up in the air, and she had no idea what to do with herself.
Within a week, Velvet was handed the answer to both of their problems.
No part of Beacon's curriculum was made to handle individual students (teams of four and pairs of two were standard), so Velvet was offered a choice of two paths: she could either agree to transfer to Mistral Academy, which did have the means to train her on her own, or begin a private class led by Professor Goodwitch herself that would lead down an entirely new path – Teaching. It was a career path not usually taken, as most instructors at Beacon and other academies were retired or inactive Huntsman that had properly graduated. Professor Goodwitch only offered this class to students who she deemed worth her time, since most of the kids just wanted to stab monsters in the face.
Needless to say, Velvet accepted the offer…on the condition that Ruby Rose be allowed to join as well, if she wanted to.
Looking back on it, Velvet would realize that this was where she and Ruby made their first major mistake as a couple – they discussed joining that class, and agreed to do it, without saying a word to the rest of Ruby's team.
And to be fair, neither of them were worried about other people at that point in time. They were already falling for each other. Hard.
A particular diamond ring was not very far away…
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(Present day…)
In the ten years or so that followed, she and Ruby had both made amazing progress in their lives and their careers. They both obtained their teaching licenses together, and both began pursuing their new dream jobs – Velvet became a proper doctor and Ruby ended up taking over as Headmaster of Beacon Academy itself! Imagine that. Despite Ruby's deteriorating mental health, she and Velvet were as happy as they'd ever been.
So long as no one brought up the past, that is…
While Velvet had been wary of Ruby's foray into other dimensions in the beginning, she soon relaxed. The work involved was hard, but it allowed her wife to totally focus her mind on something that wasn't the past and let her actually look forward to what the future might hold. This was the kind of work that could change the world. Velvet was as proud of Ruby as anyone could be.
Or 'Carmine,' as the off-world teens called her. Sometimes it was hard to remember that detail. She had called her wife many names over the years, but that wasn't one of them.
As the lead nurse of the infirmary at Beacon, Velvet was currently busy sorting her equipment and patching up yet another student who got a little carried away during a training exercise (which seemed to happen a lot lately). A quick check of the clock told her that the group was probably in the middle of their latest teleportation run, so the older Faunus began to clean up the clinic and make her way over to the lab. She'd found that her presence was often a comfort when the teenagers came back, as they were usually shaken by the events of their trip. She wanted to be there for moral support at the very least.
But then the door to the clinic slid open, admitting the newest member of the off-world group: a younger variation of Ruby that was also an adorable dog Faunus. She was called Rosey.
The unconscious woman slung over her shoulder, however, was completely new.
Beyond the hair color that was identical to Rosey's, the stranger wore very well-worn clothes that were obviously made for combat-heavy environments… as well as a wide eye patch over one eye. Even with only one glance, Velvet could tell that patch was not just for show – the skin underneath was puffy with old scars. Odds were good that eye was completely gone.
And she was willing to bet the remaining eye was silver.
Rosey was about to start explaining when Velvet stopped her by saying, "You can tell me about it later, kiddo. Bring her on in; I've got plenty of open beds."
Her Ruby… Carmine… normally warned her far ahead of time about things like this, so the new woman was clearly an unknown. Velvet spared a thought for the other teens, then turned her attention to the unconscious and half-dead woman on the bed. The faint smell of alcohol was also coming off of her, which might've had something to do with the unconsciousness.
"H-h-her name is C-C-C-Crimson Thorne…," Rosey stuttered nervously.
Yet another Ruby Rose… of that Velvet had no doubt. Great. How many more would appear before this was all over?
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Chapter 43:
"A Fistful of Rubys"
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Yang had never been the type to enter a room quietly. She was always the one who kicked the door open and declared herself to the world. She was always the loudest presence in the room.
But then again, Yang had also never contracted a deadly virus before. Things like that can change people.
When the door to Carmine's lab slid open, no one inside the room so much as glanced her way. Blake, Carmine and Wei-…er, Snow…were sitting around the main console and discussing something that sounded important. Based on what Yang remembered, the black and white duo must have just gotten back from their latest trip a few minutes ago.
The blonde silently walked in and took a seat in a chair near the door. She didn't say a word. She didn't want to, honestly. Too tired.
According to 'Doctor' Velvet Scarlatina-Rose-Whateverthefuckshecalledherself, Yang was now the proud owner of both a fucking zombie virus and a batch of medical nanomachines designed specifically to fight that fucking zombie virus off. Her bloodstream probably looked like a microscopic war zone right now, complete with tiny little battleships and aircraft carriers. Pew pew!
While it was nice that she could walk around without fear of eating anyone's brains, the downside was that it robbed Yang of all her strength. The blonde brawler was normally the one member of the group who could win a fistfight with an Atlas Paladin (which she did, thank you very much!) – but right now, you could knock her over with a stiff breeze.
It sucked.
She had also been warned against activating her Semblance for a while; apparently the little nanomachines were sensitive to heat. Yeah, real smart design choice, guys!
Yet at the deepest level, beneath the sickness and the lack of strength, and even beneath the limitations of the treatment and the bleakness of their situation…her bad mood came from one thing above all others: Rue. The older and more hardened version of her little sister had…had tried to do something… evil, and Yang was having a very hard time getting over that.
Sure it was easy to act alright the other day, while Snow was telling them her story. Sure she could pretend to be fine, but… the memory continued to haunt her. The very idea that Ruby could go down such a dark path was… just unthinkable. Unbelievable.
"Ground Control to Major Yang, come in, over!" The voice of Carmine suddenly broke through the fog and Yang gave a yelp of surprise. Blake was standing right in front of her, with Snow and Carmine close behind. When did they…?
"We called out to you a few minutes ago, but you weren't listening," Snow said softly. "How do you feel?"
Yang considered for a moment before sighing. "…like crap."
Carmine smirked as she said "If it makes you feel any better, you don't look like crap."
"Are you sure you should be up and around?" Blake asked with a worried look, then reached forward and put her hand to Yang's forehead. At first the contact felt nice…
Then all at once, Yang was back in that tent… and the hand touching her did not belong to Blake…
("I won't let you go… Not again…")
She swatted the hand away like an angry wasp. "Don't you fu-…!" Yang growled before she took a deep breath, "Sorry. Don't-…just don't touch me right now, OK?"
Blake quickly backed off, her face loaded with hurt, before Snow leaned close and whispered something to her. Blake nodded with a grim look, then turned back to Yang and said, "…I'm sorry."
"No, it's not your fault, I'm…still a bit sore from… from… other things." Yang diverted her gaze as she spoke.
"We were discussing those cards from before when you walked in," Snow said with a level of calm that was impressive with everything that had just happened, "You know, the ones we got back …home?"
Yang looked back over with renewed interest. "You found some more?"
"A few…along with some new ones. Do these mean anything to you?" Snow handed Yang the four cards she and Blake recovered from their travels.
Ignoring the two she'd already seen, Yang studied the card with the figure sitting inside the rock-like golem. "The…'Pilot'…? Nope, sorry." She then gave the next one a look: The Dancer featured the image of a feminine figure in a ballet-style pose, but wearing what looked like a rather spicy dancing dress with a very short skirt. The only other detail of the environment around the figure was a painting in the background that featured the head of an elephant …for some odd reason. Very strange. "Nothing on this one, either," she muttered.
She handed the cards back to Snow who sighed, "I didn't think so. Well…it was worth asking."
Carmine stepped forward and opened her mouth to speak when…
FLASH.
"I was hoping I would catch you all together," Rain said with her usual emotionless voice as she appeared out of literally nowhere. "There isn't much time. Carmine, make an announcement – you need to get every other student and teacher on campus into this building within the next…" She paused to think. "…five minutes."
"What?! Why? We're kind of in the middle of something!" the Mad Scientist shouted back.
"Because in TEN minutes, the fabric of this reality will start to come unraveled… and anyone on campus that isn't within the shield I'm putting up right now WILL DIE ! Now make the damn announcement!" And with that very disturbing shout, Rain vanished once again in a smaller flash of light.
No one spoke right away, and Carmine only hesitated for a moment before running for the nearest intercom. She looked shaken.
Yang didn't even think she knew how to yell.
Holy shit…
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Seven and a half minutes later, Yang was properly scared.
Rain was not acting like herself. The so-called 'immortal' was far more agitated than she'd ever been before, muttering to herself and darting around the lab with purpose, hooking up all sorts of wires to a machine in the middle of the floor.
"You remember those distortions we've been detecting, right?" Rain spoke to Carmine as she worked, "Well, I finally figured out where they came from. Something big sent a shockwave, a pulse, through the entire universe at once. That's what caused it all. You wouldn't believe the damage it caused."
Carmine was rapidly entering commands on her console while Rain was talking. "Did you at least locate the source?" she barked.
"No, the Between doesn't work like that. I can't follow a reaction to it's origin – it hit everywhere at the exact same time. There was no directional movement to follow."
"How does that even work?!" Blake asked with fear in her voice.
Rain didn't even bat an eyelid. "Seriously, don't ask. It would take me a week to explain the very concept."
"I'm ready on my end," Carmine said from her chair, "Remote emitters are online and functional."
"Good. I've done everything possible to stabilize this timeline from the outside, so now this is all that's left…"
Rain flashed over to the intercom and hit the button that sent her voice to the entire building, and to all of the worried people therein.
"Listen to me very carefully," she spoke into the speaker with a level of seriousness that made Yang's skin break out in goosebumps. "You're all about to see some very, very weird shit in the next few minutes. Think of it as a science experiment if it makes you feel better. Everybody needs to grab something solid – a wall, a chair, a desk… anything – and don't let go of it no matter what you see. You'll know when it's over."
Rain quickly walked back to the apparatus and put both hands on the top of it. Her hands soon started to glow with that silvery-white energy of hers. "That goes for you guys, too."
Carmine clutched the edge of her desk. Snow and Blake both grabbed a nearby table. Yang held fast to the arms of her chair, hoping her grip would last. And totally clueless as to what was about to happen.
"Here it comes…!" Rain suddenly shouted. "Hold on!"
"…?"
There was no noise. At all. Everything went dead quiet.
Instead of a boom, the entire world itself simply started to rock and sway as it slowly faded away into nothingness.
Yang's stomach began doing flip-flops in her gut. Oddly, the physical sensation of the chair beneath her did not move in the slightest… only the visual.
When the physical world finally vanished, the sight that appeared took Yang's breath away.
Light…
Everywhere she looked, light…
Great streams of light, flowing from infinite to infinite…
Incredible light…
The feeling of the chair remained, and Yang held fast. Fear gave her strength.
She wanted to fall into that light… so badly… but somehow felt that it would be her last trip.
Glorious light…
Falling into the light would mean death. She knew it in her gut.
So beautiful…
And then… it was over. The physical world came back all at once.
Yang and the other three mortals in the room gasped and fell forward, trying to catch their breath. Rain simply sighed as she took her hands off the machine, looking like someone who simply got a good grade on a test and not like someone who just held an entire world together.
"Thank the gods no one slipped through this time," she sighed.
"Whaddya mean, 'this time'?!" Carmine nearly shrieked. "What the ever-loving FUCK just happened?!"
"Have you ever tried to run water through a hose that had a thin spot in it?" Rain said even more calmly than before, much to the Mad Scientist's irritation. "Unless you reinforce the weak spot, all the water pressure will end up bursting through the hole."
"And that's what… that… was?" Blake asked, "A weak spot?"
"In the simplest terms, yes. And this wasn't the only hole I've found, just the most important. Nothing outside of the school was affected, so don't worry about the city. Just know that if I hadn't been here, the entire campus of Beacon Academy would have disappeared into the void. You'd all be gone."
As the weight of her words sunk in, nobody in the room felt like yelling anymore. Sure it was scary, but… damn. They came that close to dying?
Snow ended up breaking the silence by quietly cursing "…Mother's milk in a cup!"
It took several more minutes before Yang stopped laughing. She'd have to remember that one.
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Once everyone in the building was clear to return to their normal lives, Rain also went ahead and left again (but not before scribbling a third line on her palm). Everything seemed to be calming down. The world was safe.
As before, Carmine opened her mouth and started to speak, "As I was about to say…"
FLASH.
"Okay, seriously?! Can I have one fucking minute to… to… oh, hell…"
It wasn't Rain. Not this time.
"Oooh…fuuuuuck, that huuuurt…"
The moaning figure on the floor with smoke wafting up from her clothes had the standard deep red hair of Ruby Rose, but wore a sleeveless top and Capri-length pants. Her red scarf accentuated a rippling set of muscles on her arms. Yeah, it was one they all knew.
"Rose!" Blake cried as she darted over to the fallen look-alike. Snow and Carmine were right on her heels. Yang would have been, but she was still tired.
Rose was the nickname for the Ruby who had a pheromone problem… thing. The details were rather fuzzy in Yang's memory, but then again, so was everything else. All she could clearly remember was that Blake had a major crush on this one.
Even from where she sat, Yang could clearly see Rose look up at Blake with the purest expression of joy she'd ever seen. "Blake? Is that you? Did I… actually make it?"
"Yes, you idiot! Of course you did!" Blake cried with joy as she dove in for a hug. Both girls giggled constantly as Rose planted several kisses on Blake's neck and cheek. It was the happiest Yang had seen Blake ever since before they arrived in this world in the first place. Hell, Yang was pretty sure she'd never seen the cat Faunus this happy.
"I thought I'd never see you again…," Rose muttered as they held each other. "I waited and waited but you never came back…!"
"I'm so sorry-" Blake started to say.
But then…
"Is there room for one more in this party?"
Everyone in the room jumped as a new voice floated out of the space behind Carmine's computer. It was faint, but it unmistakably belonged to a… Ruby…?
As Yang watched, a new figure stepped out of the shadows behind the monitor. She looked about the same size as their Ruby, yet wore an outfit that was closer to what Blake wore but with more of a combat feel to it – lots of black and cargo pockets. A glint of metal from her belt revealed the presence of throwing knives, too. The newcomer's hood was pulled down far enough that no one could see her full face, but she was clearly smiling.
But it was a knowing smile. The kind that always made Yang… uneasy.
"And who the flying fuck are you?" Carmine barked.
"My name happens to be Ruby Grace," the hooded stranger said with a slight accent. "It's a middle name. Pleased to meet you, love."
Snow spoke up next, seemingly unfazed by the appearance of yet another Ruby. "So where did you come from? And why?"
That smile didn't budge at all, "I came from my mother, of course. As to why, well, you see…when a man loves a woman, they get together and-"
"That's enough of that!" Carmine shouted again, growing more and more distressed by the minute. It was almost funny. "We'll get to the 'why' later. Are there any more surprises who wanna come out and say hello…!?"
In the brief moment of silence that followed the shout, Yang caught a soft bang from the air vent above the door. No one else seemed to notice it.
"As a matter of fact, there are two," Ruby Grace casually mentioned as she came around the front of the computer. "I'd wager you'll find evidence of another 'hole' out by the airship docks. Three of us came through that hole… and I'm one of 'em."
Carmine was already typing furiously before the hooded girl even finished her sentence. She grunted as the results of the search came up and said, "She's right. Three energy trails, all from a central point dead center at the airship docks. If I follow the trails I should be able to find the other two…"
"I'll save you the trouble, love," Ruby Grace purred as she turned Carmine's chair around forcibly. "They're both hiding on this campus."
A few seconds of silence followed as everyone in the room blinked at each other. Two more Rubys? Seriously? And how did she even know that? More importantly… where the hell are all these Rubys coming from?!
"In that case," Carmine stood to her feet and quickly pulled herself together. "Blake and Snow, fan out and start searching for any other new redheads. Your Scrolls should be able to access the school's scanners to help you pick up a trail. Rose, you go with them. Yang, you and… Ruby Grace …will stay here and help me spot any disturbances on the monitor. If there are any more Ruby's around, I need to know. Something about this situation stinks… and I don't just mean Rose over there."
Yang didn't bother getting up as Blake, Snow and Rose made their way out of the room in a huff. The blonde could see the monitor just fine from where she sat.
The one thing she wanted to see was the new Ruby's eyes… but her hood was too low. She kept it that way on purpose. That bothered her.
And after dealing with Rue, Yang was no longer willing to believe that every Ruby Rose they met from here on in was actually a good guy.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, another Yang was also bothered.
By the lack of gas in her bike.
And lack of alcohol in her system.
Walking was easier after getting her hair cut, but she still hated it. In reality, there was little that Yang Xiao-Long didn't hate. And that included herself at the tippy-top of that list; why else get hammered each and every night besides to forget the things you've done? Or all the people you've fucked over during your sad 30-odd years of existence?
Junior better have the good shit tonight, none of that bottom-shelf piss.
The twins didn't bother greeting her anymore, as the older woman practically lived at the bar nowadays. Once inside, the dance floor and disco lights brought back fleeting memories of the first time she smashed this place up looking for information. Ah, those were good times. Thankfully, Junior didn't know how to hold a grudge… so long as you helped him forget it. With lots of Lien.
"Look, kid…I admit, that's a nice cosplay of the Headmaster, but you don't look anywhere near old enough to buy a drink."
"Oh come on, I am too!"
Oh, hell. If there was any voice in the universe Yang would recognize, it was that one. The problem was that it sounded about a decade too young.
'Old man' Junior was currently debating the legal drinking age with a young woman who bore more than a slight resemblance to one Ruby Rose, but with a few key differences: her hair was long and flowing, tied into a loose ponytail with a few actual roses laced throughout, and her cloak was fastened with what looked like a long, black feather, long enough to stick up over her shoulder. She also wore high-heeled boots, a far cry from Ruby Rose's normal footwear.
"Ah, Blondie! Finally! Could you talk some sense into this pipsqueak?" Junior passed off his burden with practiced ease as he made his way to a few other patrons.
As the new redhead turned to face Yang, another detail became clear: she wore a steel cross pendant around her neck. That was… different.
"Yang? Is… that you?"
Every single speck of the girl in front of her screamed Ruby Rose, from the tone of her voice to the pose she stood in. She was clearly older than the version that had used that line on her oh-so-many years ago, but that did little to stem the tide of nostalgia that was threatening to drown Yang where she stood.
This Ruby didn't carry Crescent Rose, however… instead she sported a sleek, rounded weapon that bore a very slight resemblance to it.
What the flaming crap…?
"Junior," Yang said without shouting, "I am not drunk enough to deal with this bullshit right now. Fix that." She slapped a pile of Lien on the counter to emphasize her point.
The old barkeep sighed and pulled a fancy (and large) bottle out from beneath the counter. Some of the good stuff.
Ooh… this might just be a fun night after all.
Or afternoon. Morning? Whatever.
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[Continued in Next Chapter]
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(I'll add the necessary credits at the end of part 3, don't worry.)